News

17th April 2015

Switch2IT celebrates SME human cybersecurity shields

SMES and IT security: Man Vs machine

The Switch2IT team is delighted to see Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD back on UK screens this month and if Robert John Downey Jr’s portrayal of Iron Man shows us anything it is that man and machine have a mutual relationship…

Without having that electromagnet placed in his chest to stop pieces of shrapnel propelling towards his heart, Tony Stark would not have lived. Likewise, if the billionaire engineer did not have a technological suit of armour (42 intricate versions in total) to don whenever the world was threatened, we would not be here either – well, not in the Marvel Universe anyway.

The human race would not be the same without support from machines and machines would cease to exist without man’s intervention. There is so much that technology can do to improve our lives and since Alan Turing et al tinkered their way to the first computer the business world has been more efficient. Now, many day-to-day tasks are fulfilled quicker, easier and more accurately. But is the demand of IT more of a hindrance than a help to smaller businesses?

Big cybersecurity risks to small companies?

Recent research from Cyber Streetwise suggests that Small-to-Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are putting a third (32%) of their revenue at risk because they believe statements like: “small companies aren’t a target for hackers” and “only companies that take payments online are at risk from cybercrime.”

This cross-government campaign proposes that SMEs are more vulnerable to data fraud and are likely to suffer a costly impact to business as a result. Also, the report says that two thirds (66%) of SMEs do not consider their business as vulnerable and only 16% stated that improving their cyber security is a top priority for 2015.

In his articleEspionage-as-a-Service - Brewing up trouble for small businesses?, Tim Holman of Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) attempts to back-up the Cyber Streetwise report with a case study of a small company that is offered the purchase of unauthorised information about their competitor. The small business is said to have declined the offer and alerted the authorities.

For Switch2IT, the fact that this small business was wily enough to decline the offer and pass on details to the right people suggests that this is one business in a long list that is cybersecurity aware. The point is, SMEs may have smaller budgets and less interest in or understanding of industry jargon like Espionage as a Service (EaaS) but that does not mean to say that they are any less aware of hackers, the damage that they can do in the future and the damage that they have done in the past.

We have questioned before whether it is all too easy to make SMEs the UK’s cybersecurity scapegoat. Men and women that work at the “coalface” of smaller businesses are vital to the cause. The people using the technology everyday – whether they are stuck in an office, working from home or commuting between meetings and bases – are the ones who know it best. Switch2IT believes that SME workers are more likely to identify malware threats, phishing scams, hacking attempts and data fraud than their counterparts in huge faceless corporations.

Just as our clients are clued up on how to protect their businesses from cybercrime, in the event of a breach, they are quick to identify threats and let us know when they need support from our data recovery or digital forensics services. Like Iron Man, Switch2IT is all for embracing the power of the human shield –albeit with a little help from technology.

Switch2IT: Agents of IT Security

We are not so bold as to believe ourselves superheroes but we do know a thing or two about IT security and how to protect your business from the threat of evil malware. Our technical support experts are here to offer you advice on the best computer system backup strategies and most secure web hosting and IT networking solutions.

If you are a SME based in Sussex, Hampshire, Surrey or London, give us a call on 0800 0833416 today. We will tell you more about our IT managed service contracts, which offer everything from a dedicated support technician to remote IT support and will keep your business fighting cybercrime.

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